2022

Authors

Sue Lord, Ruth Teh, Rosie Gibson, Moira Smith, Wendy Wrapson, Murray Thomson, Anna Rolleston, Stephen Neville, Lyn McBain, Silvia Del Din, Lynne Taylor, Nicola Kayes, Andrew Kingston, Rebecca Abey-Nesbit & Ngaire Kerse

Abstract

Maintaining independence is of key importance to older people. Ways to enable health strategies, strengthen and support whanāu (family) at the community level are needed. The Ageing Well through Eating, Sleeping, Socialising and Mobility (AWESSOM) programme in Aotearoa/New Zealand (NZ) delivers five integrated studies across different ethnicities and ages to optimise well-being and to reverse the trajectory of functional decline and dependence associated with ageing.

Well-being, independence and the trajectory of dependence are constructs viewed differently according to ethnicity, age, and socio-cultural circumstance. For each AWESSoM study these constructs are defined and guide study development through collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders, and with reference to current evidence. Themes or target areas of sleep, physical activity, oral health, and social connectedness complement social capital and community integration in a balanced programme involving older people across the ability spectrum.

Outcomes and process analysis from this research will inform about novel approaches to implement relevant, socio-cultural interventions to optimise well-being and health, and to reverse the trajectory of decline experienced with age.

Publication Link

https://bmcgeriatr.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12877-022-02845-7